{"id":246874,"date":"2026-01-28T08:05:20","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T12:05:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/?p=246874"},"modified":"2026-01-28T08:50:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T12:50:07","slug":"leones-del-escogido-win-the-2025-2026-lidom-championship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/2026\/01\/28\/leones-del-escogido-win-the-2025-2026-lidom-championship\/","title":{"rendered":"Leones del Escogido win the 2025-2026 Lidom Championship"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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In a dramatic finish that mirrored last season\u2019s heroics, the Leones del Escogido clinched their 18th Dominican Professional Winter Baseball (Lidom) title Tuesday night, 27 January 2026, defeating the Toros del Este 1-0 at the Estadio Quisqueya Juan Marichal in Santo Domingo. The victory marks back-to-back championships for the franchise, solidifying their resurgence as a powerhouse in the Dominican Winter League. The Escogido won the championship closing winning four games and losing only one in the best of seven series.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Tuesday game concluded with a spectacular defensive gem by right fielder S\u00f3crates Brito, who leaped at the wall to rob Jeimer Candelario of a potential extra-base hit for the 27th out. The play served as a poetic bookend to the season, as Brito had made a similar game-ending catch against Licey in the previous year\u2019s final.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The game\u2019s only run came early in the first inning. H\u00e9ctor Rodr\u00edguez reached on an infield hit and advanced to second on a single by Erik Gonz\u00e1lez. After both runners moved up on a groundout by Brito, Junior Lake hit a sharp grounder to the infield. Rodr\u00edguez\u2019s aggressive baserunning allowed him to beat the throw home, providing a lead that the Escogido pitching staff defended to the end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pitching excellence and MVP honors
Venezuelan infielder Alcides Escobar was named the Final Series Most Valuable Player. Escobar posted a .333 batting average throughout the series while providing elite defense at third base.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jefri Yan earned the win in relief, while Matt Foster secured the save. The Escogido bullpen navigated several high-leverage situations, most notably in the sixth inning when Derek West and Jefri Yan stranded Eloy Jim\u00e9nez at third base after a lead-off triple. Toros starter Enny Romero took the tough-luck loss despite a dominant performance, allowing only five hits and one run over four-and-a-third innings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Santiago turnaround
The championship caps a remarkable turnaround led by interim manager Ram\u00f3n Santiago. Santiago took over the clubhouse when the team sat in fifth place with a 13-18 record. Under his leadership, the “Duro de Matar” (Hard to Kill) Leones went 23-18, including 16 postseason wins, tying the franchise record held by Ken Oberkfell and Bruce Fields.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following the trophy presentation, Santiago emphasized the “collective work” of the organization. “This success was a product of teamwork,” Santiago said, crediting the front office led by Carlos Pe\u00f1a and Jos\u00e9 Miguel Bonetti, as well as his coaching staff. “The players showed up to compete with intensity every single day. They are the primary reason for this championship.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The celebration marks a historic milestone for Escogido, whose 18th crown was dedicated to Hall of Famer Juan Marichal in the league’s 72nd season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more in Spanish:
Lidom <\/a>
Lidom <\/a>
Diario Libre <\/a>
Listin Diario <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

28 January 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a dramatic finish that mirrored last season\u2019s heroics, the Leones del Escogido clinched their 18th Dominican Professional Winter Baseball (Lidom) title Tuesday night, 27 January 2026, defeating the Toros del Este 1-0 at the Estadio Quisqueya Juan Marichal in Santo Domingo. The victory marks back-to-back championships for the franchise, solidifying their resurgence as a … <\/p>\n

Read more\u2026<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[340,3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246874"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=246874"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246874\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":246905,"href":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246874\/revisions\/246905"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=246874"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=246874"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=246874"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}